My above-cited patent application Ser. No. 07/145,159 describes a truss comprising a first longitudinally-extending bar extending along one side of the truss, a second longitudinally-extending bar extending along the opposite side of the truss, and a plurality of transversely-extending bars joined at longitudinally-spaced points to the first and second longitudinally-extending bars. The truss of that patent application is characterized in that the transversely-extending bars are all joined to the first and second longitudinally-extending bars to occupy a first plane, the first longitudinally-extending bar is disposed in a second plane laterally of the first plane on one side of the transversely-extending bars, and the second longitudinally-extending bar is disposed in a third plane laterally of the first plane on the other side of the transversely-extending bars. The transversely-extending bars are disposed in a repeating pattern with tapered spaces in between, the arrangement being such as to permit a plurality of such trusses to be nested together with the transversely-extending bars of all the trusses disposed in the first plane, and the longitudinally-extending bars of all the trusses disposed in the second and third planes, respectively.
A major advantage of the truss structure of the above-cited patent application is that it permits a plurality of such trusses to be nested together to occupy a minimum volume for storage, handling and transportation. Another advantage is that it also permits such structures to serve as modular elements for constructing a truss framework of any desired strength by securing together a plurality of such trusses in various geometrical combinations while in a nesting relationship.